Improvement in sewing-machines



vent ofthe United States` granted to Daniel T. `Ward, January 2, 1855. i

` sists in setting the fork or device which opens zontally-thatis,parallel to the motion ofthe NITE rames .d lRYAN ATlVATR l, OF BERLIN,CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN s lawine-MACHINES.

To all 107mm. it may concern Be it known that l, BRYAN ATWATER, ot'Berlin, in tl'ie county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, haveinvented a new and useful ImprovementI in Sewing-Machines; and l dohereby` declare that the following; is a full, clear, andexactdescription of the construction and operation thereol,t;il\'en inconnection with the amfonipanyino' drawings, making;` a part of thisspecification, 1n which my improvement is represented as applied to oneof the forms ot' sewing-machines iu common use.

Figure l represents aside elevation ot' a sewing-machine with thebed-plate in section una line with the, shuttle-race. Fig. 2 is a planof the. parts below the bed-plate. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectionalelevation of theparts near the needle, showing their relative positionwhen the needle is up. Fig. A.tis a sectional elevation ot' the sameparts, showing` their -relatirie position when the needle is down 5 andFigs. 5 and 6 are details which will he referred to in the description.

lhe subject-matter of my invention relates tothe mechanism employed inconnection with the sewing-umchine for the purpose of insurinev theopening ot' the, loop ot the needlethread when the needle is'inlsertedyso that the thread that binds the loop may enter itwith xcertainty, whether a shuttle or other device be employed for the purposeand however rapidly the machine may 4be run, and is an im provement inthe mechanism employed to carry out the mode ofoperation described inLetters Pat.-

The first feature ot' my improvement conand guides the loop verticallyinstead of horinecdle instead ot' transversely thereto-by which thepossibility otits being entangled in the needle-thread is avoided, andit is also betteradapted to work in combination wit-bthe shuttleor otherdevice for carry ing .the sclUQDd thread. f

The second feature of my improvemeuteonsists in placing.thespringm whichform apart ofthe aforesaid device, and serve to seize the loop oftheneedle-thread in recesses in the arms of the fork to protect them frominjury and to insure their proper 2o-operation with each other and withthe needle audits thread,

as will be described.

The third feature of my improvement consists in giving tov the fork 0rits equivalent a vertical reciprocating; movement ormoveuient nearlyparallel with the needlein combination with the horizontalreciprocatingmovement by which the loop ofthe needle-thread is opened,for the purpose of moving the fork out of the way ot the shuttle oritsequivelent in its passage through the loop.

The l'onrth featureof my improvement consists in forming the point oftheshuttle, upon the side lthereof next to the needle, with a. smallbevel, when used 'in combination with the fork to prevent breaking' theneedle, as will be de# scribed.

In the drawings the letters refer tolike parts in all the figures. i

A is the bed plate of the machine. B is the goose-neck. G is theneedle-bar. C' is the needle. D is the presser. E is the-shuttle. F isthe shuttle-race. G is the feeding band or wheel, working upon thebracket V, attached to the bed-plate. H is the clamp that moves thefeedinglmnd,'aiid Iand J are the levers by which the feeding movementiscommunicated tothe clamp from the main shaft, ot the machine. Theseparts ot' the machine operate in the usual manner and require no furtherdescription, and many other parts of the ma- 'chine aremmitted in-thedrawings which do not have any immediate relation to my improvements.' Kis a rocking shaft, which is supported by the hangers 1t R, which areattached to the under side ofthe bed-plate, as is shown. It receives areciprocating.,T motion from the lever J ot the feeding mechanism bymeans of the arm J', which is attached to it, and the vconnecting-rod kand rocker-arm K upon the shaft. Upon the opposite end of4 the shaft K,arid below'the shutt`le-i'ace,is auotherarm, L, of the form shown in thedrawings. 1n the upper part of this arm is n socket, in which the shankof the forked device M works up and down. The. shank is retaiuedin itssocket bythe. pin Q, and is constantly forced upward by the spring,r N.The upper part of the piece M is formed with two upright arms, C and l),between which the needle passes when it descends. In the outer sides ofthese arms are formed recesses, in which are placed the thin steelleaf-springs s and s', which are fastened in place at their lower endsby the clampiiig-plates c c, and their upper ends project throughmortises in the upper part ofthe in a propel' position to cti-operatewith each other and with the needleandits thread. The upper extremitiesot' the springs are made wedge-formed or pointed, as is shown in plan inFig. (i. lhc springsl has a broad face vertically, as is shown in Fig.5; but the extremit Y ot' the s n'ine s is made thin. The, are so .l l eplaced in relation to the needle that when it is down and has retractedso much as to open the loop of the needle-thread the needle will be inthe angle between the upper ends ot' the springs, and upon that sidethereofI toward which thelateral movement is to be iliade, as

is shown in Fig.V 6. Vhile tlie needle isin this'Ai position thevibration ofthe device to the po-v sition shown in Fig. 4 causes thesprings to carry that part ofthe thread upon the side of the needle nextto them against the needle and into the groove in its side, and then.,meeting with the needle at somedistance above its eye, they are pressedasunder by it, and after passing it they close again between it and itsloop, and carry the loop forward to the position shown in Fig. 4, acrossthe path of the shuttle, so that the point ot' the shuttle will withcertainty enter the space between the thread and the needle; but-if thisdevice were to remain in the position shown in Fig. 4=it 'wouldobstructthe passage ot' the shuttle, and .to avoidthis the piece M is depressedsuflciently to be ont ot' its way by means ot' a cam or incline, T,which is attached to the lower part ot' the shuttle-driver S, as shown,which, acting upon the shoulder m of the piece M, depresses it beforethe shuttle comes in contact with' it. After the shuttle has entered theloop the arm L is vibrated back tc the position shown in Fig. 3, andwhen the shuttle returns the arm T passes off from the piece l\l,'v

when the helical spring N restores it' to its rst position 'and readyAto repeat the operation. v

The mechanism shown in the drawings is one that I have adapted to amachine in common use in the market, and the manner in 'which 1 haveconstructed the same has been in a measure controlled by the arrangementot' the other parts ofthe machine,and in this respect it may be saidthat the form ot' the mechanism that gives the motions of' the device Mwould have to be varied to conform to the ,ditferent styles of machinesin comtuon use, the essential characteristics being that the springs s sand the arms that hold them shall stand vertically or nearly parallel tothe motion of the needle, and that the inclined ends ot' the springsshallvbe made to embrace the needle centrally and pass by it above theeye, closing within the loop when the needle has retreated sull'icicntly'to open the loop and to move out ot` the way ot' the shuttle or otherdevice by which' the binding-thread is carried through the loop of theneedle-thread, and then return to its tirst positiong nor is itimportant that the exact manner ot' constructing and applying the deviceM, with its springs, shall be followed, as its construction may bcconsiderably varied, and yet cti-operate with the. needle and its threadin the same lnanner substantially; but the form herein shown has beenused hy me with perfect success and-fully embodies this part of myimprovement. y i

In the construction ot' machines which sew with a needle and shuttle itis usual to have thev shuttle pass close tothe side ot' the needle, andto have its point made sharp andin a line with the side of it next tothe needle to insure the entrance ot' the shuttle into the loop of theneeele-thread. In sewing with a small needle it,is liable to beslightly' bent out ot its truc position by the resistance of piercingthe ma-l terial or other cause, and if it projects for onehalf ot'itsdiameter beyond the line ot' the shuttle-race it will be caught by thepoint ot' the shuttle and broken. "loavoid this I makeupon `thesideofthe point ot' the shuttle next to the needle a small inclineor bevelsufticieut to compensate t'or the springing ofthe needle, which willenable the shuttle to pass by it without injury. This Inode ot'construction is rendered practicable by the employment, in combihationwith the needle and shuttle, of an extraneous device i'or opening theloop ot' thencedle-thread l'or the entrance ot` the shuttle. The

bevel upo'n the point ot' the shuttle is seen most distinctly at c inFig. 2.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is l. Placing the armsot the tforked device M, with its springs s s', or the equivalentthereof,

vertically anti in relation to theueedle and its thread, substantiallyin the manner and for the purpose described.

2. Placing the springs s s in recesses in the arms ot' tite for'heddevice M, or guiding` and controlling` their movement by some otherequivalent means, so that they will properly co-operate with the needle,substantially as described. v

Giving to the forked device M a reciprocating movement in a verticaldirection, in combination with the movement in a horizontal direction,to enable it to co-operate with the shuttle or other device whichcarries the bind-

